We’re both in our 80’s with health problems and I would like to know how much preparation we have to do before we get our meter changed.
The backboard is screwed to the outside wall close to the ceiling (it’s an overhead supply) and during a kitchen refit a cupboard was built around it. To get at this cupboard, the free-standing gas cooker will need to be moved and the engineer will have to stand on a work-top and possibly dismantle part of the cupboard. Will they move the cooker (we can’t do it), and will they repair the cupoard if they have to dismantle it? At our age and with our health, we can’t do it.
Any other tips on what we might need to do would be welcome. We didn’t want a smart meter, but it’s being forced on us because apparently the certification has run out on the old one. (any ways of getting round this?)
Thanks in advance!
Best answer by Lukepeniket_OVO
Updated on 20/03/26 by Abby_OVO
Hey,
This does look doable from the photos but I absolutely can send someone around to have a look and ensure before we do anything?
We do fit smart as standard and unlikely to get a heritage fitted at this point. I don’t want to speak for all suppliers but I imagine this to be the same across the board. If you are worried about the little screen which tells you your usage you can absolutely turn it off and put it in the drawer, we don’t rely on it for meter readings.
Let me know if you’d like to get this booked in for a survey!
Thank you
Engineer called by on his way back from another job. Took a good look and some photos and said (like Luke) it was doable. He reckons the best way if to put steps/a platform across in front of the washing machine and for the engineer to use that - no need to move the cooker!
So - we’re booked in for 4 weeks time. Thanks to Firedog and all the others who gave their help, and a special thanks to Luke for taking the whole thing on. (Luke - would you thank Jo for us?)
It’s a good job you asked, because the engineer coming to exchange your meter would probably not be able to do anything at all with the arrangement you’ve described.
You are clearly not allergic to modern technology since you managed to post your question; does your expertise stretch to being able to take photos with a smart phone? If so, a few photos of the meter’s location in relation to everything else nearby (including the floor) would be very helpful. Some sort of scale in the pictures, e.g. a rule propped up on the work-top reaching to the meter cupboard, would make them even more useful. You can post them in your reply here, after which we should be able to work out how best to get them to where they’ll be needed.
The day of the appointment, it would be best to make sure there’s nothing nearby that would be in the meter engineer’s way. Otherwise, I think all you’ll need to prepare is quantities of tea and biscuits.
Are both of your meters, gas and electricity,? in this same cupboard? How do you read your meters to send your readings at the moment?
Is there someone who could come to help you move your cooker and then put it back in place?
If both meters are going to be replaced with smart meters (that would make sense), you will not have to worry about sending readings for either of them ever again!
Energy supply companies have an obligation to replace meters that are out of certification.
Luke, one of our fantastic head engineers, would love to take a peek at your setup before we send someone out. This way, we can offer you the best advice and make sure the job card is updated. We're excited to help you out and can’t wait to hear back from you!
Thanks for the replies – much appreciated. Photos are attached. (Bendog – it’s just the electricity meter and I can read it by standing on tiptoe
All the following measurements are approximate.
It’s a very small kitchen, about 2.5 m square by 2.5m high. The worktop is 92cm high and approx 65 cm square. (This means that anyone taller than 1.60m standing on the worktop would be brushing their head on the ceiling). It is supported on 30 mm square battens screwed to the brick wall on two sides and an upright pillar supports the diagonally opposite corner. I don’t know how much load it will take, but it’s definitely not designed for long-term standing on.
The cupboard is 97cm W x 48cm H x 28cm D. The bottom of the cupboard is 2.03 m above floor level. It has a vertical piece if wood that the doors close against. This is not removable, except by sawing it off. It will be difficult to get photos of the inside of the cupboard. My 15-year old phone has a rubbish camera with no flash so I would have to stand on a stepladder with the camera in one hand and a flashlight in the other – not wise for someone who has a heart problem and frequent dizzy spells!. Maybe my wife could do it…🙂
Moving the cooker out would be necessary. This will leave a gap 53cm wide for the engineer to work in. The biggest problem is that I don’t think my wrists are strong enough to undo the sprung-loaded bayonet fitting that connects the cooker to the gas supply.
Let me know if you need any more information. We’re both worrying thinking what could happen, for example being left with no power at all if things go wrong. Can OVO send out an engineer’s mate when the engineer calls to take care of the physical side? We’d pay if necessary. Can we get OVO to actually come and survey the site first, rather than rely on our description?
This does look doable from the photos but I absolutely can send someone around to have a look and ensure before we do anything?
We do fit smart as standard and unlikely to get a heritage fitted at this point. I don’t want to speak for all suppliers but I imagine this to be the same across the board. If you are worried about the little screen which tells you your usage you can absolutely turn it off and put it in the drawer, we don’t rely on it for meter readings.
Let me know if you’d like to get this booked in for a survey!
Thank you
Engineer called by on his way back from another job. Took a good look and some photos and said (like Luke) it was doable. He reckons the best way if to put steps/a platform across in front of the washing machine and for the engineer to use that - no need to move the cooker!
So - we’re booked in for 4 weeks time. Thanks to Firedog and all the others who gave their help, and a special thanks to Luke for taking the whole thing on. (Luke - would you thank Jo for us?)
Thanks so much for the pictures - they speak thousands of words!
Now that you have Luke on your case, you’re in the best of hands. My only remark would be that a couple of scaffolding boards spanning the two visible worktops across the cooker hob (with the pots and pans cleared away!) might make enough of a stable platform for the engineer to stand on, if his knees fit between the wall and the grill. Otherwise, with the cooker out of the way, the engineer could probably use a magic step-ladder with different leg lengths like they do on staircases.
There is no reason not to be happy about getting a smart meter; if you mentioned your misgivings, I’m sure we could refute them and set your mind at rest.
If OVO is also your gas supplier, it would be normal to exchange the gas meter as well at the same time, so the two meters can talk to each other and to OVO to save you the trouble. Something to think about and for Luke’s site surveyor to investigate.
Firedog - excellent point about the scaffold boards, but he would gave to bring them. Best solution sounds like move the cooker out of the way and use the magic step-ladder. Aren’t they wonderful! Take your point about gas, but we’re with British Gas.
Luke - that would be absolutely wonderful and give us great peace of mind. Please go ahead and arrange it. Stupid question - how will you get my details for the site surveyor to find us. We don’t do social mmedia and I’m very reluctant to post name, address, phone number etc in plain text on any message board, even the OVO one. And seeing as we haven’t yet booked a date for the meter replacement we can’t give you a job number or anything.
Have no worries at all about having a smart meter - sounds an excellent idea. It just the logistics and mechanics of the actual changeover that worries us.
Rog*, I think Luke can find you with no problem. He may want you to send him your Meter Serial Number, which - as well as being printed on the front of the meter - should be on all your electricity bills. Put that in a private message to him, along with your postcode.
One thing I forgot to mention in my first reply: us old geezers are well advised to have a look at OVO’s Priority Services Register, if you’re not already on it. Apart from the benefits mentioned in that article, you get much better service if you have to contact Support.
*[Off-topic]
While waiting for the kettle to boil, I ran over a few words in my head:
Bog Cog Dog Fog Gog (and Magog) Hog Jog Log Mog (as in pussycat) Nog (Egg-) Pog ( I had to look that up before posting ...) Rog Sog (≈ bog in mangelwurzelland) Tog (as in duvet) Wog (originally, I think, ‘Westernized Oriental Gentleman’) Zog (a well-known Russian athlete)
@old_rog through mystical forum details ive already got your account deets.... I shall get my colleague to give you a call monday, his name is Jo and dont worry if you miss his initial call :-)
I can speak about what other suppliers are doing regarding Traditional (Non-Smart) Meters. Pretty much all of them are taking the same stance as OVO in that they no longer fit them by default and they’re deliberately burning down their stocks to zero. None have been made for UK use in over a decade now so I can’t make any promises whatsoever that you’ll find a supplier willing to fit one - and those that do will charge for a Non-Standard Install which isn’t cheap.
As for Luke? The guy is a legend as you’ve noticed. From being able to magic up keys to blocks of flats, diagnosing meters from photos and various other tricks… You’ve got one of OVO’s top engineers helping you out - it’s exactly why we love working with him!
I’m really glad to see you’ve had a great amount of support here on this and you’ll hopefully get a little further forward following the call. Thanks @Lukepeniket_OVO!
Engineer called by on his way back from another job. Took a good look and some photos and said (like Luke) it was doable. He reckons the best way if to put steps/a platform across in front of the washing machine and for the engineer to use that - no need to move the cooker!
So - we’re booked in for 4 weeks time. Thanks to Firedog and all the others who gave their help, and a special thanks to Luke for taking the whole thing on. (Luke - would you thank Jo for us?)
Consider it done! Luke and Jo already saw this because of… Magic tricks… :D
Word on the street is that you’ll get the same engineer coming back as the job has been pinned/locked to Jo - who also apologises he couldn’t get to you sooner. He’s been a bit jammed up this week but we’re glad you got somewhere!
Keep us posted with how things go. We’re here if you need us. :)
One postponement, but the engineer turned up on the re-scheduled day and did an excellent job, carefully balancing with one foot on his stepladder and one one the worktop when needed.
Many thanks to Luke, Jo, Firedog and all the others who chipped in. Much appreciated.
*[Off-topic:]
Now about to do battle with the accounts department. When we were with SSE we had a “pay for what you’ve used” account. Every 3 months they said what we owed them and we paid. Great system - no debit, no credit - you knew exactly where you were. When we were transferred to OVO they had this “same amount every month” system. Tried to get OVO to use the SSE method. OVO’s robot says this can’t be done, but I’m going to give it a go British Gas will do it if we transfer our elecrricity to them, but that would be a last resort...
Quarterly Billing is going away across the market I’m afraid. Suppliers that currently offer it now might not offer it in the future. Monthly Billing is basically the same as Quarterly Billing, it just runs the numbers and spits out the bill/statement 12 times a year rather than 4 which allows for better accuracy and faster detection of issues.
I’d recommend trying it for a while and seeing if you can get used to it. I doubt OVO will restore Quarterly Billing anytime soon.
You do, however, have the option of Pay On-Demand with OVO if that’s what you want (which is what I think you had with SSE). IIRC you can just cancel the Direct Debit and the system will do the rest. Worth noting that you will usually be kicked off any Fixed Rate Tariff and may be charged the Early Exit Fee if you do this.
But yeah, SERIOUSLY glad for ya that the main puzzle got solved. Shows you how good Luke and his colleagues are! :)
You do, however, have the option of Pay On-Demand with OVO if that’s what you want (which is what I think you had with SSE).
Worth pointing out that On-demand is quite a bit more expensive than constant Direct Debit. I haven’t done the sums recently, but it’s a significant sum each year. If you visit OVO’s Plans and prices page, you can use the filters to compare the tariffs available with both payment methods. (Note that the prices given there are ex VAT.)
Morning @old_rog, I hope you’re doing well, and I’m happy to hear the installation was successful, albeit with a slight delay. Thanks again @Lukepeniket_OVO as always for getting another installation over the line.
@old_rog I completely understand where you’re coming from with regards to the different billing / payments setup with OVO as compared to SSE. To be up front and honest about it - OVO have no plans to introduce a Direct Debit system where the exact amount of your bill is taken each month. The only option would be to pay manually via your online account, or by phone each month. As @Firedog says, this is more expensive, and with a lot less contract options that you get when paying by Direct Debit.
Me personally - I much prefer paying by Direct Debit, as I build up a credit balance over the Spring and Summer, which I then fall back on Winter. This means I can put the heating on etc without worrying about paying out more in the colder months, as there’s credit there to cover the extra usage. I then take a refund out once a year at the end of March and then start again. However, the one-size-fits-all Direct Debit setup of course won’t actually suit everyone and, if you’re wanting to switch to have a different payment method then we’d recommend doing so. We’d always promote switching if it means you’ll be better off, be it financially, or because you’ll have a feature we don’t offer.
I hope that helps and, if you do switch away, you’re still welcome to remain on the Forum of course!
Thanks for all the info, folks - there’s a lot out there! Mothly payment is no problem, I guess what I really wanted was direct debit for the amount used. Ah well - I geuss I’ll stick with what I’ve got at the moment Thanks again.
No worries - that sounds like Variable Direct Debit which was Direct Debit matched to the exact bill. SSE never offered this IIRC and OVO retired it several years ago. If memory serves, SSE used to bill quarterly, but would still take DD payments monthly. Most suppliers are moving (slowly) towards Monthly Billing and Monthly Payments - it’s better for cashflow and accuracy.
Either way, you’ll ultimately only ever pay for what you actually use anyway - Fixed Direct Debit causes any spare credit to be carried over to the next bill automatically.
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